PMF, Iraqi army launch large-scale operation against ISIS remnants

The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq launched a major security operation in the Nineveh desert on Monday, deploying from five axes alongside Iraqi army units in a comprehensive effort to hunt down remaining ISIS elements and consolidate security across the region.

The operation, led by the Nineveh Operations Command, aims to dismantle sleeper cells and prevent hostile movements in desert areas.

Brigades and divisions from both the Nineveh and Western Nineveh Operations Commands are taking part, backed by military engineering and medical units, with the campaign guided by intelligence gathering and prior field reconnaissance.

Preemptive security campaign
The offensive is part of a broader series of preemptive operations carried out by the PMF in coordination with Iraqi security forces, targeting open and remote areas where terrorist elements could attempt to regroup.

About a week ago, the Iraqi National Security Agency announced it had dismantled a “complex” terrorist cell in Anbar Province following an intelligence effort lasting more than a year. The operation led to the arrest of a senior ISIS figure known as Abu Ayman al-Rawi, who reportedly held the title of “Governor of Anbar” within the group and was captured wearing an explosive belt.

In January, the PMF also announced the arrest of a high-ranking ISIS field commander who had infiltrated from Syria into Mosul and was responsible for coordinating the group’s operations across northern Iraq and eastern Syria.

Growing ISIS threat fuels urgency
The intensified military activity comes as Iraqi officials raise alarm over a resurgent ISIS presence in neighboring Syria. Iraq’s Intelligence Chief Hamid al-Shatri warned that the group’s numbers in Syria have surged from roughly 2,000 to 10,000 fighters in just over a year.

The security landscape has been further complicated by the transfer of more than 5,700 ISIS fighters from Syrian detention facilities to Iraqi custody. According to Iraq’s Justice Ministry, the detainees hail from 61 countries, with Syrians making up the largest group at 3,543, followed by 467 Iraqis. Significant numbers also came from Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Russia, and Egypt.

Cross-border coordination
The US Central Command confirmed on February 13 that the 23-day transfer mission, which began on January 21, had been completed. Iraq’s judiciary has already begun investigating the first batch of 1,387 transferred ISIS members.

The Iraqi government has reinforced its border posture in response to the shifting security dynamics in Syria, with the PMF’s 25th Brigade bolstering deployments along the Iraq-Syria frontier. Iraq’s Defense Minister stated in January that the country’s borders remain fully under the control of its armed forces, warning that no threat, including ISIS movements, will be allowed to undermine Iraq’s security.